My favorite cruise of the gig, because I had a very special guest:
She flew out on a red-eye from LA, and was immediately introduced to the life of a Lonely Planet traveler. We met up in a Holiday Inn lobby that the cast frequents because they have free internet and will let you use the bathroom. I know, I know. Romantic. We managed to get on the ship with the first batch of passengers, and the adventure began.
This was also our first cruise where we were classified as crew. It's a complicated distinction, and proof that red-tape floats, but there are two different manifests that every cruise ship maintains. One for passengers and one for crew. For the last couple months, all the guest entertainers had been classified as passengers, but they've got all that worked out, so we're crew again. This is great, because it means we can hang out after-hours with all the other people we work with on the ship. Hooray crew bar!
Let's take this one port by port.
Samana, Dominican Republic:
Samana is interesting because it's a port that's just starting to develop. I'd only been off there once, because we have to tender in, and it's a show day, so I have an early tech call. That time, we went to a private island, Cayo Levantado, which was a whole lot of fun. The problem is, a lot of people expect all our ports to be super-developed, super-touristy, and Samana is decidedly not that. If you're someone who dreams of heading for the nearest Senor Frogs(a Spanish term that roughly translates to "Mr. Ranas"), go to Cayo Levantado, not the town. Trust me on this one.
Rachel and I decided we'd just walk around and check out the town, then head back to the ship and hit the spa.
Two Samana Presidentes -
Tortola, British Virgin Islands:
February 11th. My birthday. Rachel and I hit up my absolute favorite place on earth, Marina Cay. We had a great cab driver take us out to the Beef Island Ferry, and off we went.
After the birthday day, we were both pretty tired, so we slept in today, then went and wandered around town for a bit. We had an improv show that night, so we headed back to the ship a tad early.
Wadadli cats are what house cats would look like if they were boats
I live one one of these. Try to guess which one. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised
Rachel had an excursion that she wanted to check out, which was a tour of the Malibu Rum Factory. I was definitely up for it, if only because I had a sneaking suspicion that there might be rum there.
We toured the entire production line, which was interesting, and it finished up with an entertaining video which showed how they used rocket ships to deliver their rum to all the alcoholic countries of the world. There was also a detailed lecture where we tasted samples and were educated in the intricate scientific processes used in the manufacture of Malibu's product. I learned from this that rum is tasty.
Nothing says paradise quite like industrial development
Our last port on the cruise. Also, Valentine's Day. We celebrated the way most couples do, with a whale-watch. We didn't wind up seeing any whales, but we ran into a whole school of dolphins, some of whom we saw leaping out of the water and flipping around in the air. Awesome. It also afforded us a great view of the Piton mountains on the southern end of the island. The Pitons are the national symbol of St. Lucia. Here are two views:
The Pitons -
After we got off the whale-watching boat, we decided we'd hop in a cab and go exploring. We wound up a Choc Bay, and fantastic little beach I'd never heard of that was only a few minute from the port. There was a great restaurant next to it, as well. We spent the afternoon swimming in the clear blue water, then heading up for a lunch of fish cakes and rotis, which are sort of the Caribbean version of a burrito, but with curried potatoes. Great to eat, terrible for the breath. Advantage, Compton.